Grills?

[Mirren]

Mouth Grills Become Flashy Fashion Trend

Mon Apr 3, 7:04 PM ET

CLEVELAND - The hip-hop culture is sinking its teeth into a new fashion trend. Individual gold-capped teeth have given way to grills and fronts — removable mouthpieces made of gold, platinum or silver and sometimes studded with jewels. The trend has been boosted by hip-hop icons such as Nelly and rappers like Paul Wall.

After Nelly's 2005 hit "Grillz," which glorifies the trend, young people all over scrambled to wrap their chops around a shiny grill.

Jacob Owens, a 17-year-old South High School student, snagged a diamond-studded silver grill a couple of months ago for $200.

"Everybody is getting grills," Owens said while hanging out at the food court at Tower City. He chose silver to set himself apart.

Owens sheds his grill to eat and at bedtime, but wears it for hours at a time to match his earrings.

The mouthpieces are made from dental imprints and many are purchased online. But they are sold at local outlets too, like Wired Up at Tower City.

Jeremy McGrew, manager at the Wired Up kiosk, said business has been booming since the release of "Grillz."

Generally, tooth imprints are made and sent to a jeweler who fashions the fronts and returns them to the client or retailer where the items were purchased.

The flashy mouth jewelry has caught the attention and concern of the American Dental Association.

Matthew Messina, a Fairview Park dentist and ADA spokesman, said improper use and care of fronts can result in serious gum disease or cavities.

Messina has no problem with the aesthetic aspect of a grill, but he warns of problems down the road if they are not kept clean or if they are bonded to natural teeth.

Snap-on grills do not fit particularly well in and around the teeth, he said, allowing food and bacteria to get trapped underneath, which can cause cavities or other problems like gum disease or gum recession.

Other dangers include allergic reactions to cheap metals and adverse reactions to jewelry cleaners, which can burn gums, Messina said.

"The really wealthy who have them made of high-quality precious metals, you will have less allergic reaction," Messina said. "Someone going more of a cut-rate route, where they are using lesser metals, we see a lot more metal-allergic reaction to more-base metals."

Messina said some vendors may be unaware that in some states — Ohio included — taking an impression of someone's mouth is considered dentistry, which requires a license.



When teeth are no longer the standard, I am concerned and perplexed. I am quite the hermit but I have yet to see this when out.

[Toe Cutter]

They look vulgar. I also think they speak loudly of poor taste.

[drewblood]

paul wall.... word

[Amelia G]

Aside from the fact that I unaccountably love that video, I think they are an interesting social statement. The appeal of a grill I think is largely that a nice one makes the statement "I used to broke, but now I'm all right." Keeping your teeth in good shape is one of the hardest things being poor and, even one you have some dough, fixing damage done by malnutrition and all is expensive, painful, and scary. But a removable grill makes almost the same statement as fixing your teeth once you have money, with less pain and more flash. Not that a grill will prevent root canals.

[Flip]

i get the same impression from these as i get from cars with those stupid alloy spinners on... the person has too much money and should spend it on something that matters. gold teeth, or the corrective surgery that i clearly need..... gold teeth please, the ladies will love it! :\

[skully]

i don't have a problem with the idea itself. infact i think it is pretty cool in THEORY.

in reality though it looks really stupid. you spend so much time making scrunched up faces to show it off (like the picture of paul wall above) or when you are not you look like you have a mouthful of food because your lips are being stretched outward to cover the metal.
just imagine walking around with a football mouthpiece in all day long.

also the cheaper ones just remind me of braces.

[Toe Cutter]

This is the chap who started the craze.




Jaws from James Bond. The original gangsta!

[Mirren]

OOOO Richard Dawson Kiel.. I forgot about him. He is from Detroit too....

[BloodredProject2402]

ya, ive noticed the 'grillz' craze....even some of the good ole boys from avenged sevenfold have them...

[KilLAtomiK]

i think theyr prety cool to tell the truth ive been thinking of getting myself some gold crowns on my teef

[the_darkness_calls]

yeah, cause having gold teeth is pirate-y, yarrrrr! i think the whole mouth grill thing looks pretty dumb, but a gold tooth here or there looks pretty cool. nothing i think i'd do personally, tho.

[Pull~My~Hair]

They look vulgar. I also think they speak loudly of poor taste.

thank you, it makes people look moronic and it makes them talk like they have marbles in their mouth...seriously , its such a bad fashion statement it belongs in the eighties

[Mirren]

I will stick to wearing gold and diamonds on my fingers.

[Lady Alias]

Simply my opinion, I feel, too, that they are an unintelligent 'fashion statement'.

[skully]

there was a lady in a doctors office who had a tiny litty diamond (not sure if real or not) implanted into the front of her tooth. it was very well done... to tiny to get in the way big enough to give her a nice flash when she smiled.

totally tastefully done.

[KilLAtomiK]

yeah, cause having gold teeth is pirate-y, yarrrrr! i think the whole mouth grill thing looks pretty dumb, but a gold tooth here or there looks pretty cool. nothing i think i'd do personally, tho.

true, im only thinking of one or twoo gold teeth nothing over the top

They look vulgar. I also think they speak loudly of poor taste

some people could say the same about piercings or tattoos its all on how you see things, you either get it or you dont

[Mirren]

true, im only thinking of one or twoo gold teeth nothing over the top

some people could say the same about piercings or tattoos its all on how you see things, you either get it or you dont

It's all about what you want man. Period. I got my love for tattoos from my Dad :P He has em... yeah that's it, tell it to the man, tell it to his face!

[Bondage Clown]

BLING BLING BABY... now give me a... mmmhmhmhmhhhmmm.. (teeth got stuck together)

[Mirren]

BLING BLING BABY... now give me a... mmmhmhmhmhhhmmm.. (teeth got stuck together)

LMFAO!!

[Kidthorazine]

i dont mind gold caps or the caps with diamonds and all that but i thing those huge grills are pusshing it a bit. I mean if people want one thats there decision but i still think they make you look like a jackass.

[Black Spiral Dancer]

paul wall.... word

I used to have something like these... when I was about 10. They were called "Braces"! They are usually the iconic symbol of the Nerd/Geek!

[mmmcherry]

there was a lady in a doctors office who had a tiny litty diamond (not sure if real or not) implanted into the front of her tooth. it was very well done... to tiny to get in the way big enough to give her a nice flash when she smiled.

actually a friend of my moms had that done... was really cool... THAT i would do. but... grillz... hell no. i remember braces when i was 14, it was fuckin horrible.
i cant imagine how these things would be any different than the retainer, except its made of metal instead of plastic. (i had the retainers that just looked like those "invisiline" braces, just the plastic cover slipped over your teeth, not the wire and pink plastic ones... they totally hurt my teeth and made me want to gag, so i never wore them and my teeth are fucked again yay )

[Mirren]

Feds Try to Seize Gold From Suspects' Teeth

Fri Apr 7, 3:07 PM ET

TACOMA, Wash. - Talk about taking a bite out of crime.


Government lawyers tried to confiscate the gold tooth caps known as "grills" from the mouths of two men facing drug charges, saying the dental work qualified as seizable assets. They had them in a vehicle headed to a dental clinic by the time defense attorneys persuaded a judge to halt the procedure.

"I've been doing this for over 30 years and I have never heard of anything like this," said Richard J. Troberman, a past president of the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. "It sounds like Nazi Germany when they were removing the gold teeth from the bodies, but at least then they waited until they were dead."

Prosecutors had a warrant to seize the gold dental work, according to documents and lawyers involved in the case. But they eventually abandoned the effort, saying they mistakenly thought the grills were removable.

The customized tooth caps, popularized by rappers such as Nelly, are made of precious metals and jewels and can cost thousands of dollars for a full set. Some can be snapped onto the teeth, while others are permanently bonded to the teeth.

Flenard T. Neal Jr. and Donald Jamar Lewis both have permanently bonded grills, their lawyers said.

Neal and Lewis, both charged with several drug and weapon violations, were taken Tuesday from the Federal Detention Center to the U.S. marshal's office, where they were told the government had a warrant to seize the grills. They called their lawyers as they were about to be taken to a dentist, said Miriam Schwartz, Neal's public defender.

A permanent stay of the seizure order was issued that day by U.S. Magistrate J. Kelley Arnold, court documents show.

"Asset forfeiture is a fairly routine procedure, and our attorneys were under the impression that these snapped out like a retainer," said Emily Langlie, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Seattle.

The defense lawyers criticized what they said was a clandestine attempt to have the grills removed.

"It's shocking that this kind of action by the federal government could be sought and accomplished in secret, without anyone being notified," said Zenon Peter Olbertz, who represents Lewis. "It reminds me of the secret detentions" in terrorist cases.

Langlie and court clerks said seizure warrants are typically sealed to prevent defendants from trying to move or hide valuables and evidence. They become public with the filing of a return that shows what was seized.

Source: Associated Press

[TheQuietPlace]

^Good to see my hometown in the news

[interzone]

"Everybody is getting grills," Owens said while hanging out at the food court at Tower City. He chose silver to set himself apart.

Christ, he's going all individualistic, next thing we know he'll be getting a ché Guevara tattoo.

[DARKGYM]

This is the chap who started the craze.




Jaws from James Bond. The original gangsta!

OG, word.

[keiko]

Personally I'm rather fond of an old fashioned coal burning grill than any of these new fangled propane grill "masters" as they call them. The flavor is better.

K

[mmmcherry]

hahaa oh way to go keiko, now i want steak :P

[BloodredProject2402]

im not sure but i THINK there are a couple of different meanings for the grill out there